Sharks are in the ocean. We know this. More often than not (way more often), they simply cruise silently by without us ever knowing they were there. Still, though, the fear is real — partly because… well, getting attacked by a shark is just so horribly frightening to think about. It’s also because of the movie Jaws, but that’s a story for another day.
To the point here, pop culture has certainly built the fodder for the fear fire. But enter drone imagery into the modern pantheon of shark footage and maybe, just maybe we get a more realistic view of these ocean icons. Image-capturing remote-control birds have taken over the skies above lineups around the world. So naturally, we get to see sharks even more often, from much different angles, and in their natural state.
Recently, South Africa’s National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) obtained the footage you see above and issued a safety warning to swimmers and surfers on the southern coastline. Filmed in Plettenberg Bay, it shows a shark swimming beneath oblivious surfers — and it makes you think about how often this kind of thing might happen.
Sarah Waries of City of Cape Town (CoCT) Shark Spotters program told the NSRI that “the behavior seen in this drone footage shows that the shark is aware of the surfers and is investigating. It is important for people to remember that white sharks are naturally inquisitive apex predators and that although shark bites are rare, water users must understand the inherent risk associated with sharing the ocean with these animals and change their behavior accordingly to avoid encountering sharks.”
